Cancer is a significant health problem throughout the world. The most frequently diagnosed cancers include colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, esophagus cancer, and kidney cancer. These cancers represent a majority of cancers diagnosed in the U.S. population and account for over 90% of the cancer-related death in the U.S.
For example, in adults, the most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the small tubes within the kidneys. Children are more likely to develop a kind of kidney cancer called Wilms' tumor. The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 51,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year. According to the Mayo Clinic, the incidence of kidney cancer is increasing.
In addition to a clear need for treatments to control or inhibit tumor cell growth, such as kidney cancer growth, there is an additional need for treatments that are capable of increasing the sensitivity of existing anti-tumor treatments to cancer cells, e.g. tumor cells. For example, a variety of chemotherapies are available to oncologists which generally reduce the rate of a tumor progression. Intrinsic or acquired tumor-mediated drug resistance, however, is major clinical obstacle that can result in the lack of tumor responsiveness in patients undergoing treatment.
Because cytotoxic agents remain the mainstay of cancer treatment, and because the oral and gastrointestinal mucosa is often significantly damaged by cancer therapy, management of these agents and associated effects is an important challenge for oncologists, and there remains a need for agents that minimize side effects and/or can be administered with cytotoxic agents to minimize such effects.